Mobile Applications Testing in an Agile Environment

Mobile application testing presents unique challenges – there are numerous tradeoffs that should be considered and choices that should be made regarding the mix of different techniques and methods that will be used in mobile applications testing. There is no testing method that is completely satisfying – each testing method has its pros and cons. Therefore, testing strategy should combine different testing options that provide the best overall testing result, balancing between cost, quality and time-to-market.

Organizations today are forced to roll out mobile applications very fast in order to keep up with the constant change. A modern development methodology, such as agile, is essential in this process.

Agile development can be used across multiple platforms, including Web and desktop, but it is particularly well-suited for mobile applications’ development, which has shorter development cycles and a user base that has high expectations for quality and functionality. The main characteristic that separates agile methods from other app creation techniques is the fact that testing is a continuous part of the lifecycle and occurs during iterations intervals throughout the app development cycle. Leveraging an agile testing approach puts mobile app quality at the core of the project. Mobile applications’ development needs to be as efficient and effective as possible. Agile development integrates testing into the development process, versus having it as a separate phase. Testing therefore is an integral part of the core software development and actively participates throughout the software coding process. This allows the combined team to better meet the project’s defined business, software usability, quality, and timeline objectives.

Testing throughout the process as opposed to at the end of the project can bring a number of benefits for app developers, especially in the discovery of coding flaws or other bugs. When testing takes place on a regular basis during the development process, app developers and testing counterparts easily spot issues along the way and correct them as they go. This ensures that the project will continue smoothly and that any issues will be more easily corrected.

Time is essential when it comes to agile, and test automation can significantly speed up the testing of mobile applications without sacrificing quality. However, it cannot be used blindly – data driven applications still require significant manual engagement of the testers.

In order to make the most of automation’s ability to facilitate agile development, enterprise test teams should use the following guidelines:

1. Scripts should be written early. Automation should not start when development is complete. When scripts are created concurrently with development, it allows testers to get to work on testing as soon as possible. The challenge which QA departments often face in agile environment, is, however, the lack of resources and the time needed to create the scripts.
2. Having a good framework in place makes automation easier to maintain. A good framework can make it easier for testers to quickly implement new tests. With a general framework for an application’s development, testers can rely on the existing function libraries and maximize the re-use of components, which can save even more time.
3. Make necessary test improvements in a timely manner. Like all test automation, testing native and mobile web applications in an agile environment will need refining from time to time. In order to make sure that the scripts and test plans are as effective as possible, QA teams should frequently review the progress of automation and make necessary changes to test plans.

The growing presence of mobile devices in the enterprise is driving companies to quickly deploy mobile applications for customers and employees. The need to deploy highly reliable, well-performing applications quickly in a rapidly changing mobile environment predisposes mobile applications development to an agile development methodology. Likewise, automated testing of mobile applications is a necessity in order to maintain the quick deployment cycles necessary for mobile applications development. Now more than ever, the combination of automation and agile development can be the impetus to high quality apps hitting end-user devices on-time and on-budget.